Friday, June 29, 2012

Dresser Turned Kitchen Island for My Sis

My younger sister got engaged to a fantastic guy this past New Year’s Eve, and I couldn’t be more excited for her and her husband-to-be!

Not long after they got engaged, I told them that I wanted to do a piece of furniture for them as a wedding gift and to start thinking of what they would want or could use.  She came back to me and suggested a dresser that they could use as an island in the kitchen, so I started on the lookout for the perfect piece that was not too wide and a good counter-top height.

The search didn’t last long before I snagged this awesome piece for $15 at my favorite thrift store!

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It had several gloppy coats of paint over the years that were stripped off.  It was more than my orbital sander could handle on it’s own, so I used Citristrip.  The body was painted with an off-white oops paint. I kept the top wood and stained it with several coats of walnut stain for a dark, rich color which also served to abuse it had obviously taken.

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I followed up the stain with a new top coat for me, Tung Oil (I used Minwax brand), and it’s definitely a new favorite!!  It’s super easy to use, self-leveling for a nice, smooth finish, food-safe (so perfect for a food prep or eating surface), heat resistant (also handy for the kitchen) and just a super-gorgeous glossy finish for your wood.  The only down side is that you have to wait 24 hours between coats, and I applied 5 on this dresser/island’s top.  Just brush a generous coat on with a disposable foam brush, wait a day, and repeat the process until you have a nice, glossy finish with no dull spots.  With a little patience, I’m sure that you’ll love the results as much as I did. 

The finishing touch was these fabulous Mexican Talavera knobs that I picked up on Etsy.  They’re using Fiestaware dishes, and I thought it would be fun to play off the Mexican design element.

Talavera Knobs

So I hope that it’ll be something that they will use and love for years to come.  Who knows: Someday it may even be reincarnated as a changing table for my future niece or nephew!  ;)

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Summer is kicking my heinie here!  Between the horrid heat and having all four kiddos home, I’m not cranking furniture projects out as fast as I would like, so I apologize for my lack of posting.

But I did manage to finish up a lovely gilded pair of French side tables the other day as well.  I’m sharing them over on the SNAP! Blog, so head on over and check it out!

Gold Side Tables Detail

Sweatilly yours,

 

Linking to:

Primitive & Proper

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Bohemian Woodland Kids’ Bedroom Ideas

Even though Mr. Four is still co-sleeping with us (and probably will be for a while still), I’ve started making plans for making my daughter’s room a little more gender-neutral a space, since they will be sharing it until such time as we’re able to get ourselves into a bigger house.

I love her girly room, but I’m also totally stoked to redecorate!

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If you follow me on Pinterest, you’ve probably already picked up on the fact that I’m planning an Anthopologieesque Bohemian Woodland Room.  (I owe the initial inspiration to my good bloggy friend Cassie from Primitive & Proper, who recently did a spectacularly magical job on her own daughter’s fun woodland room.)

I’m so excited that I found two matching twin patchwork quilts on Ebay for $40 (for both!) and they are the perfect jumping off point for the new room!

I have so many ideas swimming around in my head and I decided I should get them down on a mood board to show you fine people.  :)

Bohemian Woodland Kids' Room

Here you can get a glimpse of the hand made quilts.  Aren’t they fab?

Here’s a breakdown of some of the elements I’m envisioning:

  • A green faux bois focal wall, with the other walls keeping the current buttery yellow on top and adding a tealy blue on the bottom portion of the walls to pick up on that color in the quilts.  I may add a chair rail between the two colors, possibly made from old pallet wood stained dark walnut.
  • I already have that awesome antique dresser in great shape that I’m going to move back home from the shop for their room.  It’ll go in the middle of the focal wall, between the two beds.  I may change up the original hardware with something funky.
  • I’d like to do an eclectic gallery wall on the focal wall as well.
  • I already purchased that fun vinyl of the branch with the owls.  (Isn’t it cute?!?!)  I’ll probably use it on one of the side walls
  • I’m thinking I’m going to try and make the headboards from old pallet wood stained dark walnut and cut into this traditional shape.
  • I like the addition of scrap fabric pennants on the headboard, possibly with their names.
  • I’d like to make toadstool stools for the foot of each bed.
  • I’m thinking up a way to use a vintage afghan as an area rug.
  • I’d like to make some fun throw pillow with owl appliques.

So what do you think?  I can’t wait to jump in and start getting it all together!